John Mihalyo

Principal

Mr. Mihalyo is in his sixth year at St. Raphael Catholic School as principal. Born and raised In Weirton, West Virginia, Mihalyo attended West Liberty State College where he earned a degree in Elementary Education (K-8) and a Minor in Social Sciences (grade 6-8). Over the course of his tenure, Principal Mihalyo taught at Hancock County Public School, Horizon FUTURA Center, and Sterling Middle School. He earned his Masters Degree from Shenandoah University and went on to be the interim Dean of Students at Sterling Middle School before becoming the Assistant Principal at Little River Elementary School and Dominion Trail Elementary School. In 2008, he became Principal of Madonna High School in Weirton, West Virginia. In 2012, Mihalyo accepted the position as Principal at St. Raphael Catholic School.

Nicole Nesheim, Ph.D.

Assistant Principal

Originally from Northern Virginia, Nicole moved to North Carolina to pursue a B.A. in English with a minor in Pedagogy and Human Development from East Carolina University. While at ECU, she also achieved an M.A.T. in Secondary English Education. Her experiences in the classroom fueled her desire to pursue a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from N.C. State University; her work in this program largely focused on Literacy and Teacher Preparation.

Jacob Dapolito

Dean of Students, Social Studies Teacher

Mr. Dapolito originally from New York where he attended Ithaca College. He earned a B.A. in Social Studies in 2008. He earned his Master of Science in Teaching from Elmira in 2011. He was hired by Saint Raphael Catholic School for the 2011-­12 school year and teaches 6th,7th and 8th grade social studies. He has coached basketball and lacrosse at St. Raphael Catholic School.

Erin Boretti

Business Services Manager

Mrs. Boretti graduated from Clarion University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She worked in corporate accounting for 8 years with US Foodservice, one of the United States leading foodservice distributors. While taking time away from corporate business to raise her 3 girls, she volunteered at her children’s school and family parish, Saint Catherine of Siena (Reading, PA). In 2013, she returned to the accounting field, working for The Berkshire Country Club. In June 2015, Mrs. Boretti and her family moved to Raleigh, NC, to support her husband’s work transfer. She and her family are currently parishioners at Saint Raphaels Catholic Church.

Kara Gerko

School Counselor

Mrs. Gerko is a graduate from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she grew up, and received her Master’s in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Since receiving her Masters, she has worked with children and families as a Program Coordinator in an adoption agency in Pittsburgh, a School-based Counselor in the Cleveland, Ohio public school system, a Foster Care Supervisor in Ohio and California, and a Medical Social Worker in California and North Carolina. She and her family are currently parishioners at St. Raphael Catholic Church.

Ellen F. Guarente

Office of Advancement

Mrs. Guarente is a graduate from the University of South Florida in Tampa, where she earned a B.A. in Mass Communications with a specialty in Public Relations. Since graduating, she has worked in broadcasting, political marketing, compiled the first matching gift directory for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), taught preschool, and most recently, worked in the marketing department for a Catholic graduate school of psychology. In June 2013, Mrs. Guarente and her family moved to Raleigh from the Washington, D.C. area.

Mary Morgan

Office of Recruitment and Marketing

Mrs. Morgan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and has worked in advertising and printing in both public and private industry. After six years as an SRCS kindergarten assistant, Mrs. Morgan returned to her field in the Marketing and Recruitment office. She has been a parishioner at Saint Raphael since 1999 and has two children, Sarah (Class of 2013) and Wills (Class of 2017).

Janet Pritchett

Office Coordinator

Mrs. Pritchett studied Business Management at North Carolina State University. Her oldest daughter was in the second Kindergarten class at SRCS, and Mrs. Pritchett joined the office staff in 1998. Her daughters both graduated from St. Raphael Catholic School, in 2004 and 2008.

Regina Propes

Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Propes is originally from New York, where she was a secretary for Thomas J. Lipton and IBM. She has lived in North Carolina for 28 years, and she worked for the Wake County Public School System for seven years. Before that she worked from home doing medical transcription. She truly enjoys working here at Saint Raphael Catholic School!

Kara Rectenwald

Athletic Director, Teaching Assistant

Mrs. Rectenwald graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 1997. She continued her education at ECU and received her Master's of Business Administration in 1999. Mrs. Rectenwald has worked as a substitute teacher and helped coach the girls’ basketball and cross country teams at SRCS, she joined the staff in 2015. She and her husband have been parishioners of St. Raphael since 2007 and they have two daughters at SRCS, Samantha (Class of 2017) and Julia (Class of 2019). Go Guardians!

Patricia Stevens

Math Teacher, Technology Coordinator

Mrs. Stevens started teaching for the Diocese of Raleigh in 2007. She started teaching St. Raphael Catholic School in 2010. She was certified by North Carolina State University in Middle Grades Math. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Fordham University in the Bronx, NY. Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked for Xerox Corporation for 10 years in various technology and management positions. She was also a software trainer for Gateway Corporation. She made the switch to education in 2005 when she took a job on the technology team with the Chappaqua School District in Chappaqua, NY. In 2006, her family moved to Raleigh, NC. Prior to St. Raphael, she taught for four years at St. Catherine of Siena in Wake Forest, NC.

Google Certified Educator, Google Certified Administrator

Cathy Drescher

Before & After School Care

Mrs. Drescher was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y. and loves all things "Buffalo" including wings and the "Bills". Before directing the after school program she worked in interior design, which is why she loves to decorate her rooms. In after school, she gets to really know the children because she often has them from Kindergarten to Eigth grade. Several of the children she has taken care of have come back to work for her. Mrs. Drescher has three daughters and five grandchildren.

Ann Lane

Before & After School Care

Mrs. Lane moved here from Chicago, Illinois eight years ago to be closer to her family. She has three children that are all now living in North Carolina. Mrs. Lane is a grandmother of four beautiful children between the ages of 1 to 5 years old. Mrs. Lane has worked at after school for eight years. She has learned that working with children is her calling in life and it is what she loves to do.